Now basking in the glory of the "Kaspersky Cup" - a game the Russian firm paid another $300,000 to host - Cheung was keen to extend for another three seasons.

Cheung was even treated to a rousing rendition of "It's a Grand Old Flag" on the boat as Schwab spoke of the importance of the trip in bringing the club together.

But instead of disembarking with a handshake deal, the businessman walked away with a sinking feeling. Melbourne wanted more.

Over the coming weeks Cheung was told the Demons were on track to become a powerhouse of the competition to rival the likes of Collingwood and Essendon - so the price for a space on the jumper had risen from $800,000 per season to as much as $1.5 million. Cheung was affronted and a year later, after months of wrangling, Kaspersky walked away. A crucial commercial partner was lost at sea.

About the same time as the Kaspersky deal collapsed, Schwab and his commercial operations team were courting a bloke named Ben Poulis, the owner of energy broker company Energy Watch.

In August 2011, the Demons and Energy Watch announced a massive $6 million, three-year deal.

Schwab could hardly contain his delight, tweeting: "Locking our budgets away for 2012 ... We've gone from a $26 million organisation in 2009 to a $40 million-plus in 2012 - growth needed to compete."

Polis paid his first cheque on time, but it wasn't long before alarm bells sounded.

Less than a week after the deal was done, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced it had hit Energy Watch with legal action for engaging in deceptive conduct.

Polis dismissed the claims and declared his company was "entirely legitimate".

"If we are dodgy, then why have we saved 150,000 people money on their power bills?" Polis said. "There are people who say we are dodgy, but we're not."

It all ended in tears in April last year when Melbourne was forced to dump Energy Watch after a racism scandal.

Polis had been exposed for making a series of offensive remarks on the internet, leaving the Demons without a major backer.

Kaspersky moved on fast and announced sponsorship arrangements with Collingwood and NRL club Manly.

But Kaspersky isn't the only brand to be overturned by Melbourne.

In late 2008, the Demons had all but done the deal to land international food giant Mission Foods as a major sponsor, only to be beaten by an 11th-hour swoop by the Western Bulldogs.

In a major blow to Melbourne, the Dogs announced a three-year deal worth a massive $4.5 million.

Passionate Demons fan and Mission Foods general manager Matthew Forster had all but gifted the partnership to his club only to see it slip away by a series of last-minute demands from Melbourne.

Another one had gotten away.

The Mission Foods fiasco led to the club's association with Hankook Tyres, a South Korean firm with a growing foothold in Australia. Hankook joined as the club's co-major partner in 2009 in a three-year deal worth about $700,000 a season.

Hankook's money came from its Victorian distributor L.D.Wholesale Tyres, owned by Lawrie de la Rue - a club supporter since 1958 and a large contributor to the Demons' debt demolition fund.

De la Rue, who has contributed about $2.5 million to the club through the sponsorship and donations, walked away in disgust at the end of 2011.

The Hankook association had completely disintegrated, with legal letters exchanged.

A major sticking point was the club's decision to place its new club emblem on the top left of the jumper above the Hankook logo.

De la Rue was cast aside.

Car giant Volvo also had its problems and chose to cease its second-tier sponsorship with the club in 2011.

"At some point, the board needs to take stock and work out why it can't keep sponsors," De La Rue told the Herald Sun.

"In this day and age, sponsorship is not a donation. Sponsors require a commercial return and we expect that key deliverables will be met."

A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites.